Curry udon consists of thick Japanese noodles made from wheat flour, served in a bowl of Japanese curry. Since it is a warming dish, curry udon is extremely popular during winter, and because things can get quite messy while consuming it, some curry udon restaurants offer disposable dibs to customers.

The dish can vary in levels of spiciness - from mild to hot, depending on the curry. One of the most popular toppings for the dish is Shabu Shabu meat, thinly sliced so that it combines extremely well with the thick and chewy udon noodles.

Yaki-udon is a famous Japanese dish which consists of chewy udon noodles that are stir-fried with a variety of ingredients and doused in a rich soy-based sauce. The dish can employ a wide variety of sliced vegetables, meat, or seafood, which are all shortly fried, mixed with the thick udon noodles, then doused in a fragrant sauce.

It is believed yaki-udon first appeared in Fukuoka as a result of food shortage, which influenced the restaurants to replace the traditional soba noodles with the more available udon variety. Over time, yaki-udon was recognized as one of the local favorites which has quickly spread to other parts of Japan to become a satisfying and straightforward national dish.

Tempura udon is a Japanese dish which consists of thick udon noodles served in a flavorful dashi stock. The combination is typically topped with crisp tempura vegetables and shrimps. The broth is usually seasoned with soy sauce and mirin and can vary in saltiness and color.

Next to whole battered shrimps, tempura udon is occasionally garnished with various toppings such as sliced scallions, fish cakes, or the spicy shichimi seasoning. This hearty hot udon dish can be found on the menus of traditional Japanese udon restaurants throughout the country.

Kitsune udon is a famous Japanese dish which consists of thick udon noodles served in a fragrant dashi broth which is then topped with sliced or whole deep-fried tofu known as aburaage. The name of the dish is translated as fox udon, following the old folk tale which suggests that foxes are great admirers of deep-fried aburaage.

Even though the origin of this dish is vague, it is believed that it originated in the 19th-century Osaka, from where it spread throughout Japan and became one of the most common dishes served in traditional Japanese udon restaurants.

Kake udon is a simple Japanese dish consisting of thick udon noodles served in a flavorful mixture of mirin, soy sauce, and dashi stock. It is one of the most basic versions of the ubiquitous Japanese udon dishes, typically served sprinkled with sliced green onions.

Found throughout Japan, kake udon is enjoyed as a nutritious warm dish at many traditional udon restaurants.

Kamaage udon is a Japanese noodle dish in which thick and chewy udon noodles are served in a bowl with some of the hot cooking water, and the dish is always accompanied by a hot dipping sauce (dashi tsuyu) in another bowl on the side. The customers consume the dish by dipping udon noodles in the sauce.

The accompanying sauce is sometimes enriched with ginger and green onions. It should be noted that the noodles should be slurped loudly if one wants to eat kamaage udon in the most authentic way.

Miso nikomi udon is a Japanese dish prepared with udon noodles as the main ingredient. It originates from the Nagoya region. Other ingredients in miso nikomi udon include chicken, fish cakes, a miso-flavored dashi broth, shiitake mushrooms, eggs, long green onions, and aburaage or deep-fried tofu.

Once prepared, this noodle soup is typically served in Japanese earthenware pots called donabe. It's especially popular during cold days because it's deeply savory and warming.

Tsukimi udon is a traditional udon noodle dish, also known as Moon-viewing udon. The dish is named after the raw or poached egg that represents the harvest moon, and it's typically prepared in mid-autumn for the moon-viewing celebrations. Other ingredients used in the dish include udon noodles, soy sauce, sake, sugar, scallions, and dashi.

If not used raw, the egg is sometimes poached in the dashi-soy-sake broth, which gives it an intense flavor. Once prepared, tsukimi udon is usually garnished with scallions, then served with chopsticks and a spoon for the soup.

Wakame udon is a traditional noodle dish. The simple dish is prepared with a combination of udon noodles, dashi broth, tsuyu sauce, and wakame seaweed, along with the toppings of your choice such as bonito fish flakes, fish cakes, and chopped spring onions.

The dried wakame seaweed is soaked, then used as a topping for the thick udon noodles that are served with a dashi broth in a bowl. The dish is garnished with the other toppings before serving, but they shouldn't overpower the real star of the dish, wakame seaweed.